Recently, there has been an increase in scams impersonating iTalkBB, where scammers are able to accurately state the name and birthday of the person answering the phone, leading many people to worry about the leakage of their personal information.
Mrs. Tao, who lives in Flushing, said she received a call recently from someone claiming to be an iTalkBB employee. When she answered the call, the person immediately accurately stated her name, asking: “Is this Mrs. Tao?” Thinking it was a call from a government agency or an insurance company, Mrs. Tao answered affirmatively, to which the caller claimed to be from iTalkBB.
Mrs. Tao has never conducted any business with iTalkBB, so regardless of whether it was a scam or not, she immediately hung up the phone. However, the fact that the caller accurately knew her name right from the start made her very worried. “Being able to accurately state my name makes it easier for people to fall for the scam, making them think it’s from a government agency. This may also indicate that my personal information may have been leaked, so I have been worrying about this issue in recent days,” she said.
According to the Flushing New York Public Safety Patrol (NYPSP), many people have recently complained to the patrol about receiving calls from supposed iTalkBB employees in Flushing who knew details like the receiver’s birthday and address, gaining trust to carry out scams.
Deputy team leader of the patrol, Boss Li, said that NYPSP has contacted the iTalkBB store in Flushing to inquire about the situation. The store has reported to the police and mentioned an increase in inquiries regarding these types of phone calls in recent days. The company has publicly declared on its website that this is a scam and has reminded everyone not to fall for it.
Li explained that the usual tactic of these scam calls is for the scammer to claim that someone has used the recipient’s name to open a phone number in mainland China for fraudulent or illegal activities. They then request the recipient to verify their identity and call the iTalkBB headquarters in China. Many people realize something is wrong at this point and hang up the phone without continuing the conversation.
As for those who are concerned about the leakage of personal information, Li reassured them that some websites can easily obtain personal information for a small fee. Scammers may have done their homework before attempting to scam, but by simply hanging up the phone and ignoring them, no real harm is done, so there is no need to worry too much.